I would like to start by wishing you, our readers, a Happy Chinese New Year! As you may be aware, 2018 is the Year of the Dog which represents luck.

This month’s issue comprises various stimulating and contemporary articles. From the Secretariat discusses the impact Artificial Intelligence will have on the legal services sector and provides useful statistics on the jobs that will be affected within the sector. A question for those who are about to enter or who have just entered the legal profession: are machines better than humans and can we use technology to our advantage?

Continuing with a focus on technology, if there is a buzzing sound outside your window chances are that it is a drone as opposed to a bee given that there are now more than 5,000 drones in Hong Kong. Public safety and personal privacy might be at risk. However, drones are also used for legitimate commercial purposes. The Aviation Law feature which points out that the current drone owners are governed by the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 (Cap. 488C), examines the existing laws as well as proposals introduced in December 2017 from a commercial perspective.

When a Mareva Injunction which is also known as a freezing order is granted by the court, one would assume that any third party who is served with such an order owes a duty to the holder of the Mareva injunction. However, that is not the case according to a judgment in Hong Kong in November 2017. The Litigation feature examines the concept of a Mareva in detail as well as the recent case which held that third party banks do now owe a duty to the holder and makes a reference to the effect of a Marveva in cross-border disputes.

The Practice Skills section is a personal favourite as it shares the importance of advocacy skills for lawyers not only in court or arbitral proceedings but also in various other circumstances. When I used to coach and judge mooting teams, I would remind the students that their mooting/advocacy skills would be useful not only in their professional but also everyday lives.

Finally, for those who wish to open up their singer’s ears, the Leisure section features Elaine Mok who shares her experience with choral singing.